Toronto - I first got into Bloc Party a few years ago (as everyone probably did) when I heard their tune “Banquet” on the interweb. It had a nice beat, jagged guitar and was very much in tune with the times. Also, it was a good song to dance to, which is always a good sign. Along with singles “Tulips”, “Helicopter” and my favorite Bloc Party song - “This Modern Love”, the Bloc Party rode a wave of momentum into their debut release - the critically acclaimed “Silent Alarm”. With decent sales (I assume) and songs on popular tv shows (re: The OC), the English band had scaled the great Indie Mountain and was now on top.

That was three years ago, I haven’t really paid attention to them since, but they are back with a new album called “Intimacy”. Despite not having much enthusiam for their second release (A Weekend in the City), I decided to give the new Bloc Party album a listen - primarily because they have a Chinaman in the band. I can’t hate on a brotha. I just can’t. Us Asians gotta support each other, theres only 2 billion of us. Anyways, so yea I have given the album a few listens.

How is the album? It’s definitely has a more exciting vibe to it then the previous album and reminds me a lot of Silent Alarm. Theres a song on the album called ‘Halo’, which is great, since that’s a favorite game of mine. The lead single - Mercury is a perfect example of the newfound/retro rockness. I have no idea what this Kele dude is singing but there is a sense of urgency there. Combined with the strong Chinaman drumming action and the jagged guitars, Mercury is definitely a signature Bloc Party song. The album also sees the band experiment with more synth/dance beats (”One Month Off”, “Trojan Horse”) then before and I think that has definitely enhanced the songs. Makes you wonder if the next album will be a total electro-dance album.

3.5/5

Bloc Party plays at 7:40 at the Virgin Festival

 

 Bloc Party - One Month Off: Play Now

Toronto - Fujiya & Miyagi, sounds like something makes my fridge or toaster. Despite my assumptions, they are actually a English band from Brighton. Weird, no? Worse yet, there are no Japanese people in this band, which can be misleading, since I am sure all the Anime fanboys of the world [re: Gary] would gravitate towards a band like this based on the fact that they think it’s all Japanezy. (”I totally want to move to Tokyo…it’s so cool!” they would say)

Enough about the band’s name though, what do they sound like? Well, F&M are a kraftwerk inspired electro band. Basically, a lot of minimalistic beats layered over some chilled out synth melodies. Throw in some breathy whispy vocals from lead singer David Best and you basically have the default recipe for a F&M song. The first two albums that F&M released had much fanfare from the Teen Vogue and Tiger Beat of Indie music - NME and Pitchfork Media. Popularity ensued. Their tunes can also be heard on a bunch of commercials.

September 23, 2008 sees the third release from this band, appropriately called ‘Lightbulbs’. I say appropriate because I am sure I have had light bulbs made by Fujiya and Miyagi before.. How is the album you say? It’s quite stellar. Starting with the robotic delivery of ‘Knickerbocker’, you travel thru the world of Fujiya & Miyagi - which consists of lyrics that make little sense. It’s all about the music anyway and songs like ‘Uh’ and ‘Pussyfooting’ have that familiar 80s dance club vibe that you can half heartedly dance to until the drugs/drink hit you and then you go crazy like a donkey on speed. Despite the fact that David Best half whispers his way thru out the entire album, you never get sick of him either, which is a testament to some solid song making skillz.

3.5/5

 

 Fujiya & Miyagi - Pussyfooting: Play Now

(Toronto) I’d heard of this Woodpigeon band for the past few months but didn’t pay much attention to them because I kept getting them confused with another *xylem rich band, Woodhands. Now that I know the difference, these two totally different bands will never to be confused again.

Woodhands = electric, keytar duo from Toronto
Woodpigeon = wood, wires and whisky orchestra from Calgary

Yep, if you are a fan of Iron and Wine or that Sufjun guy, you will definitely be into Woodpigeon. Although I haven’t even laid eyes on a cottage this summer, this is the CD I would put on Sunday morning as I sipped my coffee on the dock and dagnled my feet in the cold water. The entire CD actually remindes me a lot of the Reindeer Section. Listed as a friend on the Woodpiegeon website is Sandro Perri. Yep, the Panic Manual loves Sandro Perri. I asked Woodpigeon front man, Mark Hamilton, about his connection with Sandro.

Sandro Perri’s one of the main reasons I’m a musical performer. The first ever Woodpigeon show came about when I helped Sandro put on a solo show in Calgary. I’d seen Sandro do the singing / strumming thing he’s so amazing at in Europe, while I was living in the UK, and asked if he’d do it here too during his day off on tour. He agreed, but said the only way he’d sing solo was if I did too.

The night of the show I was so nervous I could barely function. It was in a tiny theatre in the basement of a church called Birds & Stone. When it was time for me to get up there, I had Sandro empty out the theatre, close the door, turn off the lights, and close his eyes while I tried to sing a song. Sandro never treated this like an inane request, but rather something that I needed to build up the courage to actually go through with it. Since then, we’ve shared the stage once more in Calgary, and I’m forever hoping to share more stages with Sandro around the world.

A stand out track on Treasury Library Canada is Now You Like Me How? Although this is probably the least Reindeer Section sounding song, it is the one I remember most. Wait for the 1:11 mark when the drums kick in.

Upcoming Canadian dates:
October 8th, MACEWAN BALLROOM w/ Iron & Wine - Calgary
October 9th, 2MEYER HOROWITZ THEATRE w/ Iron & Wine - Edmonton

* xylem - In vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue, phloem being the other. The word “xylem” is derived from classical Greek (xylon), wood, and indeed the best known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant. Its basic function is to transport water (Wikipedia)

 

 Woodpigeon - Now You Like Me How? (2008): Play Now

Toronto - This is a bit too silly not to share. Go to the site, too. For some reason my html is always filtered so I cant embed… that or I’m just dense.

Just some fun stuff for today

Click here to find out what furniture you are

Random notes:

- IKEA is an acronym comprising the initials of the founder’s name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home county (Agunnaryd, in Småland, South Sweden).

- The chain has 278 stores in 36 countries

- IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was, as a teen, directly involved in the pro-Nazi New Swedish Movement (Nysvenska Rörelsen) until at least 1945, causing tensions when IKEA began opening stores in Israel.

- People in Canada became upset with IKEA when a TV station discovered that IKEA charged as much as twice the price in their Canadian stores for the same items sold in their American stores, this despite the Canadian dollar reaching parity with the U.S. dollar.

Here is a song entirely in Swedish, for your swedish pleasure. Here is an article on the band, Kent. They actually have a few English albums out, but that post is for another day.

 

 Kent - Dom Andra: Play Now

Haha